Flames and Shadows of the Soul
by acelink230
Summary: Join team BLAZ (Blaze) in their adventures as students of Beacon Academy. The story will be centered around my OC team, but will heavily feature RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, etc. throughout. May contain pairings based on reader feedback. Minor character changes/suggestions will also be considered. Rated M to be safe.


OC's (RWBY Universe)

Speed ratings (rough estimates/visual approximations based on what comparisons I can make from the trailers and episodes thus far, these serve as a benchmark for my characters):

1/10: human walk pace

6/10: Nora's "flight speed" launching Jaune off the bridge

7/10: Ruby with normal ammo propulsion (not cross clips)

8/10: Yang with double gauntlet propulsion

9/10: Blake with semblance/Weiss with speed glyphs (blurs of color)

10/10: Ruby with semblance (basically untargetable)

_Team BLAZ_

_**Blaise Kuragawa**_

Colors: black with red undertones

Speed: 8/10

Pack: Aura powered compound bow (くらがわ/闇川 — Kuragawa)

Weapon: Ninjato/katana (かげとら/影虎 — Kagetora) sheathed into arm gauntlet/shield (幻影 の 形/げんえい の かたち — Gen'ei no Katachi)

Weapon notes: Blaise's sword takes the size of either a shorter bladed wakizashi/ninjato or a full length katana. Gauntlet expands into tower shield upon activation, and can be "widened" with use of aura/dust. The bottom edge of the shield is a blade, allowing for the shield to be used as a weapon or planted in the ground for use as a firing platform/stationary cover.

Pack notes: Blaise has Master accuracy with his bow - he can fire anywhere from 1 to 200+ shots with relative accuracy against all targets below a 6.5 movement speed rating threshold. Above that, his accuracy drops to about a 70% hit rate, even on 10/10 speed targets.

1-5 shots guaranteed to hit exactly on target

5-25 within 2-3 inch radius

25-70 within 6 in radius

70+ (up to ~250) within 1 ft radius

Semblance: When in shadow/dimly lit areas, Blaise "melds" with the shadows, causing him to blend in with the background. He is regarded as one of the best in nighttime stealth operations as a result.

Other notes: Blaise primarily takes the role of front liner, absorbing hits for the team with his shield while dishing out a fair bit of damage himself. He often starts a battle with just his sword drawn, then activates the shield when he needs to block or sees an opening to use the bladed bottom edge while parrying. The ability to quickly expand and retract his shield gives him more flexibility in battle than initially expected. Blaise usually finds Lilia's sniping sufficient that he doesn't need to resort to his bow (his most proficient weapon which rightly bears his family name), but will not hesitate to do so when alone or against enemies that are more dangerous at close range (deathstalkers, nevermores, etc.). His extensive training with Lilia has forged the duo into a formidable fighting machine, to the point of being able to take on multiple teams of other students successfully. Their understanding of each other allows the two to face any enemy without much concern, even without the rest of the team.

**_Lilia Taiga_**

Colors: Blues with white undertones (with camouflage jacket/outer clothes)

Speed: 7.75/10

Pack: .50 cal sniper rifle (Piercing Azure)

Weapon: katana (はがねがわ/鋼川 — Haganegawa)

Semblance: self-zoom, prediction and tracking of projectile flight paths Lilia combos her semblance with her sniper for unrivaled accuracy even when on the move, and can even help Blaise identify and strike targets outside of his vision range when firing his bow.

Other notes: Her semblance makes Lilia the obvious choice for team tracker and marksman. Lilia usually finds Blaise and Zakum to be more than sufficient as a frontline so that she doesn't have to resort to her katana, but her melee combat skills are not to be underestimated. Her extensive training with Blaise and their resulting knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses is unrivaled. They have demonstrated significant skill in alternating attacks at different ranges and covering for each other's blind spots.

**_Auria Zerrin_**

Colors: Off-white/light beige with gold undertones

Speed: 7/10

Pack: dust vials of various elements, used to refuel Zakum's pack

Weapon: Battle staff (Ventus Flame)

Semblance: manipulation of pockets of air/air pressure can rapidly change air pressure in small volumes to levitate small objects and float them around, which she uses to toss supplies to her allies during battle. She can also shift air pressure near enemies to cause fainting/incapacitation.

Other notes: She takes the main support role in the team due to dust capacity and spell mastery. Her semblance is most often used to move small quantities of dust to her teammates to fuel their weapons and defenses, but also makes her an expert in nonlethal incapacitation of organic targets. She has yet to test it against the creatures of Grimm. Aside from her semblance, she is a master of various spells spanning all the elements, which she can use purely offensively or to augment her allies' offensive or defensive capabilities. Through extensive training with Zakum, she is able to pinpoint and augment his weapons even when he is attacking or defending at maximum speed.

**_Zakum_**

Colors: flaming red/orange with earthy brown undertones

Speed: 8.75/10 (appears ~9.5)

Pack: deployable set of 6 mechanical arms

Top two (Anima and Soulfire) fire bolts of aura

Middle two (Flare and Frost) fire streams of fire/ice dust

Bottom two (Control and Outrage) wield daggers

Weapon: Two pairs of twin daggers (Fang, Nova, Juliet and Misdirection)

Semblance: 360 degree sensory awareness, allowing him to fight in all directions at once. This is used in great effect when taking on multiple enemies at different ranges due to the ranges he can cover with his arms. He can also detect presences through non insulated walls/other thin barriers.

Other notes: although he doesn't have the fastest base speed, Zakum appear and is able to fight at extremely high paces through use of his arms. Only the fastest of enemies can even keep up with the flurry of strikes that comes from Zakum and his four daggers. Few are equipped to deal with the combination of melee and ranged attacks that Zakum dishes out.

**_Author's notes_**

Alright, so although I do claim ownership of the characters themselves, I will point out that they were partially inspired by games/series that I have seen in the past. I will start by explaining that each "pack" that the characters have is a secondary weapon/power source that they can use in combat that deploys from a relatively thin backpack-like case into a full weapon/system. This was inspired by the Arctic Ops Varus skin from the game League of Legends. I imagine Lilia's fighting style with her katana to be similar to that of Yasuo from League of Legends, but with less wind themes and more water-inspired motions. Blaise's semblance is inspired by Fang from the Maximum Ride series, and his fighting style is inspired by a combination of Black Star from the anime Soul Eater, Zer0 from Borderlands 2 and the Phantom and Guardian archetype enemies in Mass Effect 3. Zakum is based off Zakum from the game Maplestory. I claim no ownership whatsoever over any of the aforementioned series' or RWBY itself.

As for the story itself, I'm not sure as to when the first official chapter will be out since I still need to buy a new copy of Microsoft Office for my computer (I'm publishing this from an iPad). I'm hoping school won't keep me too busy so that I can update at least once every two weeks. If there's anything else I missed, drop a review so I can clarify any problems.


End file.
